Medical items used in the treatment of patients often need to be tracked. Such medical items may include medications as well as medical devices and appliances. These medical items come in various forms and sizes, for example, in the form of pills, capsules, caplets, vials, ampules, or the like. Previously, the use of medical items was ordinarily tracked manually.
More recently, automated systems for controlling, dispensing and tracking the use of medical items have been developed. One such system is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/361,783 filed Dec. 16, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,409, which is owned by the Assignee of the present invention.
Because medical items are often fragile and subject to potential breakage, it is desirable to dispense several medical items together as part of a kit as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/756,623 filed Nov. 26, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,593, which is also owned by the Assignee of the present invention. U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 08/756,623 and 08/361,783 are both incorporated herein by reference.
A need existed for a medical item dispenser that could dispense several types of medical items including fragile items while minimizing the risk of breakage and the risk of theft of some items such as narcotics. Such a system is disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/879,997 filed Jun. 20, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,249 and which is owned by the Assignee of the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference. The medical item dispenser in that Application dispenses a wide variety of medical items reliably and accurately in response to electrical signals. That system is easy to use and provides enhanced security for preventing unauthorized access.
Still, a need exists for a device and method which allows the dispenser modules 24, 28, 30 and 128 described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/879,997 to be loaded or replenished accurately and quickly. Since medical dispensers need to be periodically refilled, there is a need for a device that can readily reload dispenser modules while having the ability to take and track inventory of the items in the dispensers. There is a need for facilitating visual verification of the type and quantity of medical items which are in inventory in the dispenser module. There is also a need for such a device to have the ability to dispense several types of medical items, including fragile items, while minimizing their risk of breakage. There is further a need for enhanced security to minimize the risk that medical items may be taken while loading or replenishing the dispenser module.